A new life
by InTheHallOfFame
Summary: 16 Year old Rosie is an Australian who is holidaying in the UK with her family when her plane crashes. After waking up at CHERUB and being offered a place, Rosie accepts.  Takes place after Shadow Wave.
1. Chapter 1

I woke up, the clean white sheets feeling smooth below my hands. This wasn't the children's house was it? The last thing I remembered was talking to Jennifer Mitchum about the death of my family. Oh God, the pain is almost too much to bear. I looked down at my scratched up body. I was naked. I looked beside the bed and saw freshly pressed orange shirt, cargo pants and combat boots. I look around to make sure no one was looking and I slipped the clothes on.

I went out the door and saw a big circular track with kids running on it. They were all dressed in the same shirts as mine except they were all different colours. There was red, grey, navy and black. But no orange like the one I had on. I ventured further down the hall until I saw and elevator with a girl getting out of it. She wore the same thing as me except her shirt was black. She looked about the same age as me.

"Excuse me, where am I?" I nervously asked

"Can't talk to orange" she replied.

"Huh?" Was this some kind of a joke?

I noticed she was pointing to the elevator and holding up one finger.

"First floor?" I asked

She nodded and walked off.

I took the elevator to the first floor and stepped out into the most beautiful lobby I had ever seen. I walked over to the desk where someone was talking on the phone

"She's pregnant? Already? Oh, I got to go. Newbie's here" Newbie? Was that me?

"Excuse me, where am I?" I asked for the second time today.

"Rosie? Rosie Newman?" she asked

"Yeah" I replied nervously

"The chairwoman is waiting for you"

"Chairwoman?" I repeated.

"Yep, just go down the hall and it's the last door"

I ventured down the hall, seeing different names on the door. All of them had 'Mission Controller' printed on them though.

"Mission Controller?" I murmured to myself.

Finally I got to the last door. The plaque read 'Zara Asker. Chairwoman'. Wanting to be polite, I knocked on the door.

"Come in" a voice from with in yelled.

I opened the door and saw a blond haired lady sitting at a massive desk.

"Ah, you must be Rosie" she smiled at me. "Welcome to CHERUB"

"I'm sorry, CHERUB?" I asked

"It's where you are" she replied.


	2. Chapter 2

"And what would be CHERUB?" I inquired.

"CHERUB is a government facilitated program that trains ten to seventeen year olds to catch bad guys. Basically we train kids as spies and catch criminals" she explained

"You what?" There was no way this was real.

"Okay, imagine it's the middle of the night. A man knocks on an old ladies front door and says he's injured. She'd probably call an ambulance but not let him inside. Now, imagine that a little boy knocks on her door. He says 'Can you help me? My dad has been in a car crash'. She lets him in, the man jumps out of the bushes and knocks her on the head and they rob her. We turn the tables and use these methods to catch the bad guys"

"So what's this got to do with me? I'm sixteen"

"Your situation is a peculiar one. When your plane crashed, you, your siblings and your cousins all survived. However, your passports, visas and all forms of identification were destroyed when the plane went up in flames. You can't go back to Australia and our agent in the children's home reported back to us that you were a close knit family with brains and the fitness to match. We are always in need of more agents and you guys fit the profile. Most agents who come to us at your cousin's age of 8 or around then have no older siblings to look after them or to show them the ropes. We want you to stay with us to look after your cousin and siblings until you turn seventeen. Then, like all retired agents, you are able to come back to campus to visit your family"

"So, are you offering me a place to stay, with my family?" I was shocked.

"Yes. You'll get all the perks of being a full agent except you won't be able to go on mission as you won't be going through basic training"

"What's basic training?" I asked

"Basic training is a 100 day course in which agents who have turned 10, can go through. They go through intensive combat, language and physical tests so they are prepared when they go out on missions. You won't be going through it as the next one starts up in two weeks and by the time you go through it, there won't be any time to send you on a decent mission. Besides, your role here is to support your family"

"So what about my brother? He's fourteen. Will he be going through basic training?" I inquired.

"Unfortunately, your brother looks to old to be a child. But he can go through basic training if he wishes. Your sister can go through basic training if she wishes as well. However, due to grief counselling, she will not be able to go on the next one in two weeks but is able to go on the one after. Your cousins are able to go through basic training also if they wish"

"So where are they now?" I wondered

"Your family is in our medical facility asleep. We didn't know whether or not you would accept so we kept them asleep. I assume your accepting to join us so you can go down to the medical facility and stay with them till they wake up"

"Yes. I accept" I was grateful that the rest of my life was not going to go down the shitter.

"One more thing. Your shirt, orange is a visitor's colour and people are not allowed to talk to you without my permission. As you won't be going on missions, in lessons you can wear whatever you want, provided it is appropriate. However, during combat training, you will be provided with a white shirt which is for retired agents and staff but seeing as you won't be going on any missions"

"Oh, okay" I said, confused by the coloured shirts.

"Your family won't be awake for another two hours, so we can go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat if you want? While we're down there I can explain a bit more about us and how we work " she offered.

"Um, yeah, sure. That sounds nice"

I smiled inside.


	3. Chapter 3

We were sitting at the tables eating the most delicious steak I had ever tasted. There weren't much people around so I felt a little more comfortable.

"This is really good steak" I commented.

"All the food here is delicious and healthy. Well except for the vending machine" she smiled. "See that fridge over there?"

I nodded

"It's full of microwavable foods. When you get your own room, you are supplied with a microwave and a bar fridge. You can fill up your fridge with foods in case you don't want to come down here. It gets really busy during lunch. Right now everybody is at morning lessons and they won't be down here until about 12. So is there anything you would like me to explain?" she asked.

"Yes. The coloured shirts" I was desperate to know what they were about.

"Well, as you know, orange is for visitors and white for staff and retired agents. Red is for the juniors. Kids younger then 10 who aren't eligible for basic training but still live here. They all live in the junior block and are allowed small pets like guinea pigs or a mouse. Blue is for kids who are currently undertaking basic training. Grey is for kids who have completed basic training and are allowed to go on missions. Navy is for kids who have done outstanding on a single mission and black is for kids who have done outstanding on more that one mission. Most people retire on their black or navy shirt. The lessons here are very good and most kids achieve GCSE's before the necessary age. And also kids are placed in small classes according to their skill level. For example, one of our retired agents, when he was 13, he was in a maths class with 15 and 16 year old but in Spanish class with 5 and 6 years olds. Seeing as you joined CHERUB later, you'll be placed in class with students younger than yourself. We give our agents the best chance at education. Any questions about the classes?" She enquired.

"What are the GCSE thingies? I haven't heard of them before" I questioned her.

"It stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education" She explained

"Oh, so it's sort of like TEE then"

"I suppose so. Not that I know what TEE is" she joked.

"Don't worry. So what else is there?"

"We have out pools, athletics track, height obstacles. I'm sure you'll discover them all in time. Anything else you wanted to ask?"

"Nope" This place sounded pretty impressive.

"Well, I'll leave you to eat by yourself. Just make your way back up to my office when you're done and we'll figure out your new name." Zara started walking away.

"New name?" This confused me.

"When Cherubs come here, they can choose a new name if they wish or keep their name and just change their last name. Think of one if you like and get back to me" She continued walking away.

Not having eaten for a while, my stomach was still growling after I finished the steak. I walked my up to the dessert counter and my mouth dropped with all the beautifully arranged desserts. I loaded up my plate and headed back towards my table. I sat back down and was halfway through a mouthful of chocolate cake when somebody sat down. I looked up and saw it was the blond girl from the elevator.

"Hi" she said.

I quickly swallowed the rest of my cake.

"Hi" I said warily.

"You must be new. My name is Lauren. Lauren Adams"


	4. Chapter 4

"Hi. I'm Rose Newman" I was conscious of my accent and tried to hide it.

"Don't do that" she said, taking a spoon full of my ice cream.

"Don't do what?" I was confused

"Don't hide your accent. It's nice. We have another Australian here and sometimes he gets self conscious about that too. It'll be nice for him. And I thought your name was Rosie?" I was relieved but surprised to find another native here.

"My name is Rosie but I prefer to be called Rose. And how do you know my name? I only came here today?" This was mega creepy.

"Zara told me. But don't worry, this place is amazing. You'll love it, and so will your family. Zara told me a summary of your story but when you're ready, you can tell me if you want"

"I'm still not really comfortable talking about it" She nodded.

"So how are you liking the place so far?" she asked

"It's still all a bit surreal. But the food is amazing"

"Yeah, it is pretty good. If they didn't have all the fitness here, I would be the size of my mum when she died." She gave a little giggle.

"How hard are the teachers here?" But before she could answer my question, her phone started blaring 'Sweet Child O' Mine'.

"One second" She stood up and walked away. "Hello?"

I quietly listened in while eating my dessert.

"Yeah, Zara asked me to talk to the new girl. You should come down to the cafeteria" Why was she talking about me?

"Because she's Australian that's why" Oh no, I wasn't ready to meet other people "Okay, bye"

My heart sped up like a jet pulling away from the airstrip. I tried not to let it show as she walked back. I was itching to ask who it was but couldn't bring myself to ask.

"Do you mind that I have my boyfriend coming down? He's the Australian I was talking about"

"No, that's okay" I said quietly, I was itching to say something to prevent this strange guy coming down to talk to me.

My heart was making its way up my throat as I slowly ate my dessert. I couldn't deal with all this kind of stress. Every time I looked up and saw a guy enter the room, I felt like was having a heart attack. Then I saw Lauren get up and head over toward a boy with messy brown hair. She grabbed his hand and started walking back to the table. I felt like I was going to faint. They both sat down but I didn't look up.

"Rat, this is Rose. Rose this is Rat" she introduced us.

"Hi" he said, his accent surprisingly still there and detectable.

I looked up.

"Hi" I said quietly.

"So, where are you from?" He asked. I could sense his anxiety.

"Um, Broome, Western Australia" I was still nervous and didn't look at him properly.

"I was from outback Brisbane. I never did find out what it was called" He shrugged.

"How did you end up here then?" he inquired.

"Plane crash and I can't legally go back. I'm looking after the rest of my family. I'd rather not talk about it" I squirmed in my seat.

"I understand. It's actually really nice to hear an Aussie accent around here. I got sort of nervous before about my accent but now no body really cares"

"I had an aunty who lived in England until she died so I'm kind of used to it" I shrugged,

"When you said you're looking after the rest of your family, how many is there?" Rat asked.

"Rat!" Lauren scowled at him

"5. Including me. There's me, my brother, sister and two cousins. All of them are in the medical unit knocked out for another two hours. I'm actually done so I'm gonna go back up to Zara" I stood up and walked away.


	5. Chapter 5

"So I'm guessing you met Lauren?" asked Zara

"Yeah, she seems nice" I shrugged

"She is. Especially when she's not plotting against anyone" She must have seen the confused look on my face as she laughed

"Long story. Lauren is a sweetheart with the little kids but when it comes to getting her way, she can become quite the schemer. But she's one of our best and brightest." She explained in a 'what can you do?' sort of way.

"Sounds like a nice person to hang around with" I laughed

"She's not too bad. So, have you thought of your new name?" Zara got some forms out

"Not really, although I am the oldest of my family here, it's still going to be a family name so if it's okay with you, I'd like to wait until the others wake up before I make any decisions." I explained

"That most certainly is okay with me. Now that we have 'covered' that, we'll go over living arrangements. Is that okay with you?"

"Actually, I'd like to go sit with my family if that's alright?" I asked nervously.

"Absolutely, I'll take you down there myself; I need to ask the doctors a few questions anyway. Shall we go?"

"Sure"

"They all look so peaceful" I said quietly.

We were down at the medical building and I was watching the remainder of my family sleep on their separate bed. They all looked so fragile, innocent and young. My heart tore up knowing that they lost all they had known at such a young age. I could deal with this, move my life around to suit others needs but they were still in a normal world. Where mum did the cooking and washing and dad was the one to sneak them lollies. Now, all authority figures were gone and they were going to wake up and the realisation of what had happened was going to hit them in the face like a tidal wave.

"Mum?" A small boy had peeked his head around the door.

"Yes sweetheart?" I assumed this was Zara's kid as she answered to him

"Um, Dad said to tell you that Tiffany isn't eating her tea" he said quietly.

"Oh, not this again" Zara groaned "Rose, this is my eldest, Joshua. Joshua, this is Rose."

"Hi" I said nervously.

"Hi" he replied, equally as nervous and shy as I was.

"Tiffany is my second and is currently going through a stage where she won't eat anything that isn't green. It's good for vegetables but horrible for getting her to eat anything else. I better go deal with it. Are you going to be alright by yourself?" she asked, getting up out of her seat.

"Yeah, definitely" I said

Zara hurriedly walked out of the room shaking her head.

I looked up at the clock and realised I still had half an hour before they woke up. I decided to have a look around. I passed a door that had nothing on it. Letting my curiosity get the better of me, I opened the door and saw a number of things including a treadmill, a mass of machines and a weight press. Looking around to make sure no one was watching me; I slipped off my borrowed combat boots and headed over to the treadmill. After I checked that it was plugged in, I turned it on and gradually increased the speed. I surprised myself but being able to go onto the highest speed there was on it. I ran and ran and ran for everything that was wrong in my life. I was now an orphan and responsible for 4 kids under 15 and there was nothing I could do about it. I don't know why I kept running but I think I was running from all the horror that would soon catch up. I had no idea how long I was running but after a while, I thought I heard a door creak from behind me. I shook my head from it and kept running.

"What are you doing?" a voice said

"Ahhh" I screamed as I tripped over my foot and tumbled head over heels off the treadmill.

"Crap, are you okay?" I could see it was a teenage boy around the same age as me

"Do I look like I'm okay?" I said sarcastically

"Surprisingly, yes, for someone who has just run at full sprint for 20 minutes" he looked flabbergasted

"20 minutes?" my jaw dropped

"That I know of. I walked in here to stock up on Panadol and saw you running full out so I decided to watch. I've been standing here for 20 minutes so I decided to stop you before you over exert yourself. I don't know how long you were running before. And you're not even out of breath" he exclaimed

"I'm not unfit. And Zara didn't say I couldn't be in here" I shrugged, wiping the sweat away from my forehead.

"Well if Zara says so" he said with an amused smile on his face.

"I'm Rose by the way"

"I'm Bruce. Bruce Norris" he smiled

**Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I had other stuff going on.**

**Just a warning. I wont be able to post more chapters between 16-22 october but I will try to post asap after that.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Norris?" I asked "As is Chuck Norris?"

"What? I like Karate okay. What about your last name?" he raised his eyebrows.

"I don't have a new one yet. I only just got here a couple of hours ago with my family. I'm here waiting for them to wake up"

"Oh okay, well that explains why I don't recognize you. So, do my ears deceive me or do we have an Australian. We've already-"

"Got one of those, I know." I cut him off. "I've already met him"

There was a couple moments of awkwardness between us. I decided to break away from it.

"Well, I have to go back to my family. I have no idea how long I was running for so they should be waking up soon." I bent down to collect my shoes.

"Yeah, sure. I have to go back up to my room anyway. See you around?" he offered

"Sure" I gave him a smile and walked out the room.

When I got back to my family, Zara was sitting by them.

"Where'd you go?" she wondered

"Oh, I was just looking around. I found a treadmill so I decided to go for a run" I said sheepishly.

"How long were you gone for? I've only been here for about five minutes." She shrugged.

"Apparently I was running for more than 20 minutes. At a sprint"

"Apparently?"

"Well, someone was watching me run. Bruce Norris, I think it was? Yeah, he said he was standing there for about 20 minutes and when he got there I was already running." I shrugged

"How ere you able to run that long at a full sprint? I don't think not even some of our fittest runners are able to sprint that long. Close to it but definitely not for a full 20 minutes. And you were going longer." She was dumbfounded

"I'm on the cross-country team back home. I always come first and I'm always able to sprint the whole distance. I think the longest I've been able to sprint is like 5kms or something. It wasn't properly measured. And when I'm distracted, I can go for longer" I said modestly.

"Well, I would definitely like to test out your full capacity. This is a first that I've ever seen." She was flabbergasted, more than any other person I'd seen.

I was starting to wonder about back home.

"Um, Zara. What's going to happen back home?" I asked quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's school and our clothes and belongings. Also the houses that my family was in. There are two different houses and financial lots to deal with."

"Well, with your schooling back home, we can hack into the system and take you out of the system. As for everything else, it's whatever is in your families wills. As for your clothes and belongings, we are going to fly you back home in one of our jets and you can sort through everything there. Of course you will get a chance to go back to your school and say goodbye to all your friends and whatnot. But you'll only be there for two days at the most."

"Oh. Okay" I was coming into the realisation that my life back in Australia was coming to an end.

We sat there for another ten minutes in silence. On the outside, I seemed calm and together. But on the inside, I was slowly wilting away. Somehow, all at once, I was forced to deal with family deaths, moving to another country, the fact that there was child spies and when the rest of my family woke up, I was to tell them everything that I was dealing with. I was starting to crumble and there was no way I was going to be able to put the pieces back together once my life shattered. I hoped that as time goes on, I was able to tape up the pieces back to some resemblance as to what my life once was. The tears were starting to make an appearance when I noticed my cousin was starting to wake up.

"Sam?" I said softly

"Rose?" she murmured

"Where are we?" she asked, her voice as fragile as I thought it would be

"We're in England. At a place called CHERUB. They train people to be spies and catch the bad guys. We're going to stay here. Me, you, Jenn, Michael and Charlie." I hope she wouldn't catch on about our parents.

"What about mummy and daddy. And your mummy and daddy. Where are they?" her face was hopefull.

"Sammy, you know the plane crash we were in? Well, they didn't quite make it?" My voice was breaking; this was torture telling an 8 year old this.

"What do you mean they didn't make it?" he face was turning from freshly waken up to sad looking.

"Sammy, they died" I was trying my absolute hardest not to let the tears flow freely but I couldn't help it; a sob escaped.

In an instant, my cousin's face turned from sad to absolutely crestfallen. I had destroyed her world and there was nothing I could do to stop the gut wrenching sobs that was emitting from her body. I hugged her tightly; as if she were my lifeline and she hugged me just as tightly. I was dreading the moment when I would have to tell the rest of our family what happened. I couldn't go through this three more times. I just couldn't.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it took me forever to update but I was reeeeeeeally busy. I've made it extra long to make up for it and im in the middle of writing another chapter. Hope you guys like!**

Just as I had suspected, telling the rest of my family about what had happened was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life. Zara was respectful and hung back in the corner of the room but I could see the tears rolling down her face. Part of me wished she would rush over and hold us, just to give us a maternal figure, just for a while longer but the other half knew that we had to deal with this as a family.

"Rose? Can you come here for a sec?" I could hear Zara's voice wavering.

"Sure" I wiped the long dried tears from my cheeks and pulled myself from my four remaining family members. Jenn and Charlie had fallen asleep.

"Go" Michael whispered to me. At that moment he looked older than the fourteen years that he was. He slid into the spot I got up from and Jenn and Charlie settled into him.

A small wary smile crept onto my face.

"Yeah?" I asked Zara when I approached her

"I hope you don't mind but we sort of have to move out of the medical unit. We've got some new agents coming in later and we need to perform some tests on them"

"Um, sure" At this moment I would agree to pretty much anything.

"Do you mind if we go to a room?" I asked. I wanted a bed more than anything.

"Yeah sure. We have to assign you a room anyway"

15 minutes later, we were heading toward the elevator with a set of keys in my hand with a number on a piece of paper. Even though trauma had recently run through my family, Jenn, Sam and Charlie were excited by the fact that I had an 8th floor room and we were riding in a elevator. I only wished I had that type of innocence. Switching from unbearable sadness to happiness in a matter of minutes. We got out of the elevator and stopped at room 814. I stuck my key in the door and swung it open. My jaw dropped.

"Wow" was all I could say. There was a queen size bed, an ensuite, a small bar fridge, a flat screen plasma, a bar fridge, a study desk with the latest laptop money could buy.

"It's pretty sweet isn't it?" a voice surprised me from behind. I turned around to find Lauren behind me.

"Definitely" I agreed

"Your sisters seem to think so" she pointed them out.

I groaned in reply to seeing them. They were jumping on the bed. I decided to let them. They needed some happiness.

"Sister. The two littler ones are my cousins. And this is my brother" I pointed to Michael who was being considerably quiet.

"Lauren Adams" she offered her hand

"Michael Atkins" he shook her hand

"Atkins? Nice. My brother chose outs. He's not at campus anymore"

"We haven't chosen out new name" I explained

Michael looked at me weirdly.

"'l'll explain later" I said

"So who are the others?" Lauren asked

"The taller one? Mine and Michael's sister Charlie. The two smaller ones? That's the twins, Jenn and Sam. They're not identical but they may as well be. They do everything the same and together"

We watched the other three explore the rest of the room in a comfortable silence. It wasn't until Sam mentioned she was hungry that Lauren spoke up again.

"Have you got some food in you fridge?" she asked me

"No, I don't. Zara never showed my where the meals were kept."

"I can show you now. There's heaps of people in the cafeteria at the moment so I don't think you'd like to be in there. But the fridge is out of the way so I don't think you'll get much attention"

"Um, sure. Thanks. Michael can you look after the others?" he nodded and went over to the plasma.

As we entered the cafeteria, I could feel several eyes on me. Lauren must've noticed my face going red because she spoke to me.

"They'll get over it. At the moment you're just a novelty item. It's worse because you're an Aussie. Not that that's a problem but the novelty's worn off from Rat. And everyone's heard your story by now. Gossip around here spreads like wildfire. Don't tell anyone anything until you've made some _very_ close friends. Even then be wary. Give them about a week and they'll stop staring" We'd reached the fridge by then.

"Take as much as you want" she shrugged.

I looked at the assortment of microwavable foods. I took as much as I could in my hands and Lauren took some as well. As we walked back out through the cafeteria I hated all the stares and whispers. I decided to do something I would have never done at home.

"Hi everyone!" I yelled, making sure _everyone_ heard.

Hushed whispers fell over every one. I smugly kept walking forward.

"That was brave" Lauren commented as soon as we were out of the cafeteria.

"I know. I would have never done that at home. But then I nobody noticed me. I was the quiet one. But back there I hated all the stares and whispers so I had to do something."

I was mobbed by my cousins when I entered into the room with food. I walked over to the microwave with 1 parcel left in my hand. I walked into the room with 10.

"Just put them there" I pointed on top of the bar fridge.

"Sure"

"Thanks for that. I don't think I could have faced all those people by myself"

"No problem" Her phone started ringing.

"Sorry" She excused herself. "Hello?"

I turned onto the twins and Charlie who were currently trying to eat their way through the plastic wrapping.

"Sam, Jenn, Charlie! Stop that! I'll put it into the microwave" I snatched up all the packaging and shoved a random one in the microwave.

I was putting the rest into the fridge when I heard some of Laurens conversation.

"You're here now? Why didn't you tell me? I could have come Kerry to pick you up! I'll be right down" I could hear the excitement in her voice. She hung up and headed over to me.

"Sorry, I have to go. My older brother's just turned up and I haven't seen him since he left campus six months ago. Sorry to ditch you on your first day. I'll bring him around later. I have a feeling he'll like you" with one last wave she practically skipped out the door.

I gave some food to the hungry ones and wandered over to Michael.

"Did you want some food?" I offered him a plate.

"No" he said quietly

"Why have you been so quiet?" I asked

He turned around and faced me.

"Because I'm grieving. Something you guys obviously know nothing about. I haven't seen you cry once since I woke up. You're a heartless bitch" he didn't speak loud but the words stung deeper than any shouting could have done.

"I was awake for 2 hours before you guys woke up. I found out what had happened and where we were. I had to wait until you all woke up and tell you what had happened to our parents. Do you know what it's like to tell an 8 year old that they will never see their parents again? I've been given this new responsibility but I don't know how to handle it. And the reason you haven't seen me cry is that once I start, I'm not going to be able to stop. So who the hell do you think you are telling me I'm a heartless bitch? Where do you get the nerve" I wasn't speaking loud but my voice was dark.

Michael didn't say anything in return but he stalked off the ensuite and slammed the door. The 3 girls looked at me for an answer.

"He's just sad" I explained

The realisation of what had recently happened cast a shadow on their young faces but it slowly passed. I could still tell that they were sad though. I thought about making some food for myself but I wasn't hungry. I laid back on the bed and thought to myself.

'We've got a long road ahead of outselves'.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry it took a while but I had exams this weeks and I was studying before hand. But now that I have finished school I should be updating chapter closer together. Also, it would be great if you guys could give me some ideas because im slowly starting to run out of them myself! Hope you guys enjoy this one!**

Michael didn't come out for another couple of hours except to get food. But even then he went back into the ensuite. No matter how much I smiles at my other family, my smiles weren't true. The words I spoke to Michael were true. I was afraid that if I started crying, I wasn't going to be able to stop. I was watching tv and wondering if I should boot up the laptop when there was a knock at the door.

'That's strange' I thought 'We don't know anyone else other than Lauren'

I wandered over to the door and opened it. There stood Lauren with a big grin on her face. Behind he stood a small petite Asian girl. Next to her was a tall, broad chested blond.

'Hel-lo sunshine' I thought to myself. This guy was cute.

"Do you mind if we come in?" Lauren asked.

"Sure" I said quietly. I still wasn't comfortable in other people presence yet.

Once she shut the door, she started the introductions.

"This is my older brother, James" she pointed to the cute blond. "And this is Kerry, his girlfriend" she pointed to the Asian.

'Damn' I thought. Well, a guy who looks like that is bound to have a girlfriend.

"James, Kerry, this is Rose. Her and her family is from Australia"

"Hi" I said quietly.

"Hi" both of the repeated.

Kerry was about to say something when she saw someone beside me.

"Hello" she said, bending down.

I looked down. It was Jenn and she was tugging on my pants.  
>"Jenn, don't be rude. Say hello back" I scolded her.<br>"Hello" she said quietly. I nearly missed it.

"Sorry. She's quiet around people she doesn't know." I apologized.

"It's fine" Kerry waved it off.

"Jenn, what?" she was continuously tugging on my pants.

She motioned for me to bend down.

"Don't be silly. You can say it in front on these guys"

"I need to go to the toilet" she said quietly.

"Well go to the toilet." I said

"I can't. Michaels in there and he's locked the door" her voice was getting louder with frustration.

I groaned in exasperation and stalked over to the door.

"Michael! Open the door! Jenn needs to go to the toilet!" I banged on the door.

"Piss off!" was the response I got

"Michael!" I warned

"I said, piss off!"

I turned around to our company.

"I'm sorry you guys had to witness this. This is really embarrassing." I apologized.

"It's fine, really. We know what it's like to lose our family. Actually, my room is just down the hall. I can take Jenn to the toilet if you like" Lauren offered.

"Really? Thank you so much" I turned to Jenn. "Jenn, Laurens going to take you to the toilet in her room" she looked hesitant but her need to go to the toilet over rided her fear.

Lauren closed the door behind her and an awkward silence settled over James, Kerry and myself.  
>"I would offer you guys a drink but I don't have anything in the fridge and the only water source has been locked away." I shrugged.<p>

"That's fine" Kerry said.

"Would you like me to talk to him?" James offered.

"If you want to. But by the response I got, he doesn't feel like talking"

"I have an idea" James sincerely wanted to talk to Michael.

"Okay. If you really want to"

I knocked on the door again.

"Michael?" I said more softly this time.

"I said, piss off! What part of that don't you get? Just fu-"

"Michael" I said sternly. "There's someone here to talk to you. Just let him in. Please?" I begged.

My heart lifted when I heard the door unclick.

"He's all yours" I pointed to the door.

"Thanks" James disappeared and I heard the door lock again.

I looked around to find Charlie and Sam sat near Kerry while Kerry was talking. From the sounds of it, Kerry was talking about a past mission of hers. I watched her face become animated and her hands fly everywhere explaining the significance of what she had done. I watched Charlie and Sams face light up with the prospect of them doing something similar. I saw the door swing open and Lauren and Jenn walked through. Jenn went to sit with the others while Lauren wandered over to me.

"Where'd James go?" she asked.

"Talking to Michael" I pointed to the bathroom door.

"Oh okay. I see those four are having fun" she nodded to the story telling

"Four?" I only had three relatives there.

"Yeah. Usually kids don't really like Kerry. I remember just before I started basic training. It was James and Kerry's first mission together. Anyway, Zaras first, Josh was a newborn and no matter who held him, he always cried. Except for James. From what I saw anyway. James even had a theory that Josh like people with blond hair. Until I held him and he still cried. But ever since then, Kerry has stayed away from little kids. But to see her like that, it's kind of nice." She smiled fondly at the old memory.

Five minutes later, I heard the bathroom door unclick and James and Michael walked out, smiling like they were best friends.

"Michael has something that he would like to stay to you" James said to me.

"I'm sorry that I told you to piss off and I promise to be nice to you." He looked at James who nodded his head.

"Can I go now?" he asked me

"Yeah, sure" I said.

The other three left after that and I went and watched TV with the others. A re run of The Brady Bunch was on. I had seen the episode before but the other four had never watched the show before. I watched their faces as they saw this family deal with their troubles. A tear escaped my eye as some of them hugged their mum and dad. I quickly wiped the tear, not letting them see my moment of weakness. After that we all went to bed, tired emotionally and physically. We all clambered onto the bed and cuddled into each other. Except for Michael, he went on the little couch. I shrugged it off, too tired to argue with him.

For some reason I woke up in the middle of the night. I thought I heard something but brushed it off to the wind. I got up and padded over the ensuite. I shut the door and turned the light on. I looked in the mirror and was shocked at what I saw. My eyes were wide and terrified with big black bags sagging under them. I looked terrible and felt worse. My chest felt like a big whole where my family used to be. I felt the tears coming on but refused to let them flow. No, not while the other were in the other room. I splashed my face with water and turned the light out. I was about to climb back into bed but I heard that noise again. I listened closely and I heard that someone was crying. I listened to the three girls on the bed but they were snoring softly.

"Oh, Michael" I muttered softly.

I walked over to the couch sat down beside him.

"Michael, honey" I tried to hug him but he pushed me away.

"No" he said quietly, he was afraid of waking up the others.

"Michael. It's okay to cry. You need to cry. Come here" I pulled him into me again. He tried to push me away again but his attempts were less forceful. Even though this was guy who was half a foot taller and several kilos heavier than me, he folded into me like he was a little kid. His whole body seemed to wrack with sobs and there was nothing I could do about it. But for the sakes of the others, he was crying quietly. This was the Michael I knew. The one who let his emotions go but still somehow still had the welfare of others in mind. Quiet tears rolled down my face as I tried to sooth him. But my tears were not for my family, not yet. They were for Michael, a boy who had just recently lost his parents. Michael eventually fell asleep in my arms like a little boy. Even though he was asleep, I kept soothing him and taking care him like he was a little kid. I couldn't do anything else. Eventually I fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

I woke up to three faces crowed around mine.

"Gah!" I shouted.

All three girls started laughing.

"That's not funny. I could have had a heart attack" I exclaimed. Even thought it was over dramatised, this just made the girls laugh harder.

I noticed Michael wasn't next to me anymore. I looked around the room and he wasn't anywhere that I could see.

"Where's Michael?" I said, in a more serious voice.

"He left" Charlie said nervously. I looked at Jenn and Sam; they were avoiding my gaze, afraid that they were going to get in trouble.

"What do you mean he left?" I asked

"Me and Jenn and Sam were sitting on the bed when he got up from the couch and walked out the door"

"Oh no" I groaned. I quickly shoved on my borrowed boots.

"You girls need to stay here. If someone knocks at the door, do not answer it no matter who it is. Do not use the microwave or the shower or anything else except the TV. Do not fight over that or there will be trouble." I quickly explained.

They nodded in understanding and I walked out the door. I looked either side of the hall.

"Michael?" I yelled.

No answer.

"Shit!" I swore.

I jogged to the elevator and hurriedly pressed the button to go down.

"Come on" I muttered.

The doors finally opened and two girls stepped out. They gave me a weird look. Then I remembered, I was a sixteen year old girl in a CHERUB uniform. They should have been able to recognize me but they didn't.

"Have you guys seen a tall guy with dark hair and a CHERUB uniform? He would have been someone you wouldn't have seen before with an Australian accent like me?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, he was down in the cafeteria. If you're looking for him, you better get there quick; he looked like he was about to throw a punch" One girl said.

"Thanks" I said and quickly slipped inside the elevator.

I rode the elevator to the cafeteria level and stepped out to find a crowd gathered around a table. I heard shouts. I strode over there and pushed my way through several people who glared at me. I finally got to the source of the crowd to find Michael fighting with a boy around the same age as him.

"Michael!" I yelled but he didn't seem to hear me.

Both boys were using moves I had never seen before. The other boy was using fancy moves that seemed to pin Michael to the floor seamlessly but Michael would gain the upper hand by using brute force and muscles that the other boy didn't have. It was probably a stupid thing to do but I ran straight into the middle of the fight and stood between both boys. The crows groaned and I got several more glares.

"Michael! What the hell?" I asked.

"He called me a stuck up Aussie" he wiped his nose which was bleeding.

"So you hit him?" I asked.

"No. I called him a wacko limey. Then he hit me. I was just standing up for myself" Michael explained. I turned my head to the other boy.

"You hit him because he called you a 'wacko limey'? You clearly need to go the therapy. That's not even a good insult" I snorted

A collective 'ohhhhhhh' split through the crowd.

"You're lucky you're a girl. Otherwise you would be on the ground" he growled.

"Why because you would hit me? Go on then. Chuck a hit and see where it gets you" I dared him.

Anger exploded through his eyes and he carelessly swung his fist at my head. I quickly ducked and stood back up. While he was getting his bearings again I swung my fist into his stomach as hard as I could. He doubled up and clutched his stomach.

"Don't ever try that again or I will get you back and it won't be something you can feel either." I hissed.

By this time, the crowd was nearly in hysterics laughing at this other guy.

"What's going on?" Zara's voice came from the back of the crowd. Everyone stopped laughing and parted. It would have been funny except that I was going to get into trouble.

"She punched me" the other guy pointed at me.

"If you can't even defend yourself against a new agent who has had no defence training, Jake Parker, then I think you need to go through a fitness program. No offense to you Rose, you clearly know how to throw a punch" Zara nodded to me.

"That's alright" I said.

"Zara! Seriously. I already have punishment laps from like every teacher and my homework keeps piling up" Jake whined.

"That's not my problem. The rest of you, class starts back up in ten minutes. I suggest you start moving out." The crowd grumbled at being dismissed.

"Zara, I'm really sorry at Michael causing all this. We're just causing hassles for you at the moment." I apologized, shooting evil glances at Michael

"It's fine. Agents get into trouble all the time but I expected better from Jake Parker" she laughed

"Actually, honestly? No I don't. He has a terrible temper and is known for getting into these sorts of fights."

I grinned uneasily. I turned around to Michael

"Are you okay?" I asked. He nodded.

"Actually, Rose, I was just about to ask you some questions about setting up your new life. Last names and such."

"Yeah, sure. I'll just clean up Michael and we'll be right down" She nodded in agreement and walked off shouting at a few of the lingering students.

We were in the elevator when I couldn't stand the quietness between myself and Michael any longer.

"Why did he call you a stuck up Aussie?" I asked. This was something I was genuinely curious about.

"Because he was asking me questions about home and I didn't want to answer him" he said simply.

"Michael, you can't just throw punches back. You weren't like this at home and I don't know why you have to start now" I sighed.

"Whatever" he shrugged.

The three girls were exactly where I had left them when I rushed out of the door earlier. They all gasped when they saw the state of Michael. I cut them off before they could say anything though.

"Go get ready. As soon as Michael is cleaned up, we're going somewhere. Don't ask any questions."

I headed toward the bathroom and Michael obediently followed me with his head down like a dog with his tail between his legs. I cleaned him up as much as I could but I could tell that he was going to have a couple of wicked bruises in the morning. We were just about to get inside the elevator when I heard a familiar voice.

"Hold the elevator!" I turned around to find that guy from earlier on.

"Hey! Bruce, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. And you're Rose aren't you?" he asked.

"Yep." I nodded.

"What happened to your brother?" he asked, taking note of Michael's bruises.

"He got into a fight with a guy called Jake Parker" I said.

Recognition filled his eyes.

"Yeah that sounds like Jake. Getting into a fight with the new kid" he said.

"And I sort of joined in I guess. He tried to hit me so I punched him in the stomach"

"Oh so we have a runner and a fighter joining the ranks? How are you at academics" he waggled his eyebrows at me. Was he flirting with me or was it just my imagination?

"Not bad I guess. I like to read a lot so I guess that makes me good at English" I assumed

"Well, let's hope you're in my class then"

I don't know if it was me but I think the temperature in the elevator went up a couple of degrees.

The elevator stopped at the lobby and all of us got out. Me and my group headed toward the left and Bruce headed toward the right.

"See you around then?" he asked.

"Sure" I said back.

I looked back at Michael who had a weird look on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"We've got no family left, I'm all bloody and bruised and you've got three kids under the age of 10 to look after and you're trying to get a boyfriend?" he asked.  
>"Okay firstly, you are not bloody. Not anymore. And secondly, he was just being friendly. I'm not looking for a boyfriend out of this. I still have to plan their funeral so don't get shitty with me" I didn't have to say who 'their' was.<p>

When I stepped into Zara's office, I didn't expect her to be kissing a guy who was considerably younger than her.

"Oh, hi" Zara shamelessly pulled away from him.

"You said when Michael was cleaned up to come down" I said. Was she cheating on her husband?

"This is Ewart. My husband" I guess not.

"Hi" he said, reaching his hand over to shake mine and Michaels. I nodded back.

"So it looks like we have more Aussies joining us then?" Ewart asked Zara.

"Yep. Looks like Rat will feel more comfortable. Several years after joining" Zara joked.

Ewart kissed Zara again and headed out the room.

"So what did you want to talk to us about" I asked.

"I know it must be on the point of bugging you but I really do need a new name" she asked.

"Okay. We'll decide now" I turned to the others. "You guys remember how CHERUB works right? Well, we get to change last names. Our last names won't be Atkins anymore"

"What will it be then?" Charlie asked.

"We get to pick" Their faces lit up with excitement. Suggestions, not good ones I might add, came flying at me from all over the place

"I have a suggestion" Michael spoke up at last.

I turned to him "Yeah?" I urged.

"Daniels-Robertson. Both our mothers' maiden names" he said simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Michael, that's brilliant" I laughed "Do you girls like it?"

Jenn and Sam nodded eagerly. Charlie looked hesitant.

"I still like Bieber-Simpson better" she said.

"No one else does" I turned to Zara "Daniels-Robertson it is then"

She entered something into a computer and turned back to us.

"You five are now known as Rose, Michael, Charlotte, Jennifer and Samantha Daniels-Robertson. How does that sound?" she asked.

"Good" I replied.

Michael shrugged.

"I don't like Jennifer!"

"I don't like Samantha!"

"I don't like Charlotte!" was the response I got from the three girls at the same time.

"Well that's your full name so stick with it" I teased

"But your full name is Rosie. Why do you get to change it?" Sam asked.

"Because I'm older" I retorted.

"Now there's the small matter of getting all your stuff from Australia to here. All five of you are flying back on our private jet. During the five days you are staying there, you will be packing and saying goodbyes to any friends. If you want to come back before the five days is up, we can allow that. A funeral has already been planned. Rose, I would like to talk with you later about the details afterwards. When you guys come back, you will be put into classes. Do you understand?" We all nodded.

"When do we leave?" Michael asked.

"As soon as you want" Zara replied

Five hours later, I was stepping into CHERUB's private plane. The smaller three were ecstatic to be flying on a plane again. Michael and I? Not so much. To being with, I didn't like flying in the first place and my nerves were worse because of the crash. If I was legal, I would have been at the bar (on a plane?) drinking already. It was a straight flight to Broome so I decided to see if I could sleep off the 18 hours or so. I was too nervous to deal with the others and I slipped into a seat and closed my eyes. Exhaustion took over me and I drifted into oblivion. Amazingly, I slept the entire way. I woke to find that I was daytime outside and the relentlessly hot spring Australian sun was beating on the windows of the plane. I was excited to get out the plane and be back on home turf. I took one step onto the tarmac and for the first time since the crash, I smiled to myself.

'This is home'. I thought to myself.


	10. Authors Note

Hey guys! This, unfortunately is not a chapter.

Firstly I want to thank you for reading my fan fiction! Your suggestions are helpful. I am here explaining why I haven't updated in ages. I don't know if you guys know this but I live in Australia and at the moment it's the summer holidays. I also have a part time job and they know that I have holidays so they have put me on for extra shifts, which is annoying. Also for the last two weeks or so the weather has been thunderstorms and lighting so we've had to shut down the computer incase the hard drive gets fried and we lose all our information. I'm trying the best I can to write the next chapter down but at the moment it's hard to find time. I'm really sorry . I wish I had more time in the day. I'll try as hard as I can to get the next chapter/s up. And a warning:im not going to be able to post chapters from the 27th to the 4/5th January as I am going camping with the family. I'll keep you guys in mind and incase I don't update before then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


	11. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! I was recently looking back at what I had written and I found a mistake that really needs to be fixed. In Chapter 3, when Zara is explaining to Rose about how CHERUB works, she talks about kids completing their GCSE's. Rose said that it was like a TEE. This is the mistake. TEE stands for Tertiary Entrance Examination. I should have put WACE, which is Western Australian Certificate of Education. This is what Rose would have completed had she finished her education back home in Broome. Also, in Chapters 7 and 9, Michael and Rose say that both the families' last name is Atkins. It should be Newman like Rose said in the first couple of chapters. Sorry for making these mistakes. I hope I haven't done any more like this. Also, although I live in Western Australia like Rose, I don't live in Broome so names here will be completely made up. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

The smile on my face didn't last long. The drive back into town was a tense one. Michael and myself and made good friends here that we had to leave. The three girls went through friends like they went through clothes. The first thing I decided that would be easiest to do was to say goodbye to friends. I wanted to get this over with before the funeral tomorrow. All our parents' long distance relatives and friends would be there. I didn't want to think about it. We stopped just outside of the towns edges. Luckily it was during the middle of a weekday. I don't think I could do this on a weekend.

"Where to first?" The driver asked.

"Uh, Broome Public Primary School please." I figured it was easier to do the girls first.

School was in session when I stepped into my former primary school. All five of us stepped into the office. The driver decided to stay behind. I got smiles as I entered the office. Before the crash, I regularly volunteered here when I had the time.

"Rose! Hi. What are you doing here?" It was Leanne, the receptionist.

"We've come to say goodbye. I don't know if you heard but we were in the plane crash back in England. All four of our parents died but we survived. We have relatives in England that we're going to live with" This was the cover story we were provided with.

I could see the entire offices faces just drop. My parents and Jenn and Sam's parents were well known around here. All four of them attended here. Leanne was in the same year the twins' father, my uncle.

"Anyway, I thought that maybe the girls could say goodbye to their friends and teacher?" I asked.

"Sure. Go on ahead." Tears were starting to form in everybody's eyes. I had to get out of there fast.

"Thanks. And by the way, the funerals tomorrow if you all would like to come."

Memories were coming back to me as I wondered down the halls I once used to attend. We stopped outside Charlie's room first. I asked Michael to sit with the girls while I explained the situation to the teacher. Just as the office staff, he was equally as sympathetic and also bought the relative story. The twins' teacher was also on the brink of tears and promised to come to the funeral. Just as we were leaving, the principal made an announcement on the PA system that broadcasted over the entire school about what had happened. Just as we stepped back into the car, the entire school spilled out onto the front lawn to wave goodbye. My heart welled up and a tear escaped. We drove off with the school waving madly. That was one part of my life that had been said goodbye to.

"Where to next?"

"Broome Public High School please" Now it was mine and Michaels turn.

I told the girls to stay in the car and they obeyed. The atmosphere was the same as when we first left. Friendly but hostile at the same time. We stepped into the office and the chatter died.

"Uh hi. We've come to drop out of school. I don't know if you guys heard about the plane crash back in England but our parents died. We have to go live in England with relatives" Just like the primary school, the entire offices faces dropped.

"I was wondering if we could go say goodbye to friends."

"Yeah, sure" We stepped out of the office and into the main area

"Meet you back here in twenty minutes okay?" I said to Michael.

"Yeah, whatever" he walked off over to the home economics area.

Luckily, the class that I was supposed to be in at the moment, all of my friends were in. Especially my bestest friend in the whole world. Nadine. We met back in primary school in year three when she moved from Perth. The teacher asked me to be her buddy and ever since then we became inseparable. She was going to be the hardest thing to say goodbye too. I walked into the English classroom and no one spoke a work.

"Hi guys" I gave a small wave.

"ROSE! OHMIGOD! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE ALIVE!" Nadine ran up from her chair and bowled into me.

All of my other friends stood up from their chairs and came over and gave me a hug as well. Even the people who I only just friendly with came up and said that they were glad I made it. Nadine kept hugging me and the tears were flowing from her eyes. My tears at seeing my best friend again were about to start flowing but the teacher, Mrs. Guilford, the least liked teacher in the whole school, opened her trap and used her voice.

"Rose Newman what do you think you are doing?" she asked.  
>"What do you mean?" Surely she had heard about the crash.<p>

"You come into my class a week late. You finished your holidays last week, correct?"

"Yes, but—"

"No buts. You cannot come into my class a week late and cause this kind of distraction. Hurry up and sit down" she said, the annoyance etched deep in her face.

"I am a week late because I was in a plane crash" I said. She had been picking on me all year long and I was sick of it.

"Nice excuse. I actually haven't heard of that one before. Now, like I said, get your book out and sit down"

"Who the hell do you think you are? I was legitimately in a plane crash and you think I'm making it up? Is this how you get off? And for your information, I've actually come to say goodbye. I'm moving schools."

"WHAT?" This was the reaction from all my friends.

"Well, my parents died and the only relatives I have are in England. So we have to go live with them. I don't want to but I can't do anything about it." Nadine was shaking her head.

"Are you serious? Are you okay? Oh my god, you must feel so sad" Nadine was hugging me tightly.

"Yeah. The funeral is tomorrow" I said to her.

"Excuse me. If you don't mind taking this outside the classroom? Everyone that is friends with Rose, please leave so you can say your goodbyes." Mrs Guilford was shoving us out the room.  
>"Sure. Just as soon as you take the stick out your ass. Goodbye you miserable old bitch" I said to her and walked out the classroom. The entire class was in hysterics when I walked out. All my friends followed.<p>

"That was pretty cool" said one of my friends, Janine.

"Well I'm leaving so I might as well speak my mind. Come here you guys." I held out my arms while they said their goodbyes. I made promises to all of them to go on Facebook and text and write.

I saved Nadine for last. We hugged for what seemed like ages. We made promises to text every day and write every week and send pictures. Even though I knew I was consciously making these promises, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep them. Being at a secret location at CHERUB, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to talk to all my friends.

"Promise to text me every day" she said.

"Every moment I can spare" I was going to try and uphold my promise.

Grudgingly, I left her in tears and headed back towards the front of the school where Michael was already waiting for me. I looked at him; I could tell that this had been emotional for him. He also had a friend that he had known since they were 6.

"Let's go deal with the funeral" I said with a sad smile.


	12. Chapter 11

Silent tears kept falling from my face on the ride back to the house. We decided to stay at mine, Michaels, and Charlie's house on account of that it was bigger, had more stuff to pack and was more central of the town. A horrible feeling settled in my stomach as we pulled up the driveway. We should be entering our own house with our parents, not strangers. We should be coming here to unpack, not pack. I reluctantly opened the side gate and walked around the back. Tears threatened to make an appearance as I approached the back door. I suddenly had a thought.

"I don't have a key" I said to the people who were accompanying us on the trip.

"What about the spare key?" said Michael.

"Mum and Dad put that inside" I said, remembering mum asking me to hang it on the key chain.

"Shit" I swore.

All three girls gasped.

"You said a naughty word" Jenn and Sam said at the same time.

"Sometimes you just have to" I muttered to myself, thankful that that was all I said.

"We're gonna have to break a window" I said.

"Do you have an alarm system?" one of the guys said.

"No. We were thinking of getting one when we came back. We'll have to break a window and get someone to come out" I said.

I picked up a decent size rock and was about to throw when someone shouted.

"Stop!" Michael screamed. But I already had momentum and let go of the rock. Unfortunately, I didn't have much momentum going so the rock landed on my foot.

"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Shit. Balls. Crap. Fu—" I suddenly remember who my company was. But I don't think they were worried about my choice of words. They were all laughing.

"Why the hell did you yell out stop?" I asked Michael.

"Because I want to throw the rock" he said.

"Are you kidding me? You made me drop a rock on my foot so you could break a window?" I asked credulously.

"Yeah" he said like he was answering yes to whether he wanted ice-cream or not.

I silently handed him the rock and he stepped back. He took a short run up and threw the rock. We were all hoping for that crashing sound but the rock connected with the window and bounced off.

"What happened?" asked one of the extras; whose name I recently learned was Jordan.

I started laughing. I don't know why I laughed, but in my state, it was hilarious. Everyone was staring at me like I was crazy. I finally managed to get my laughing under control with the odd giggle.

"I completely forgot. We had a break-in a couple of months ago so mum and dad but reinforced glass on all the windows. Basically nothing short of a bullet will crack the window." I started laughing again.

Michael groaned. A month after we got the windows, Michael was making his bed and fell back and hit his head on the window. He was knocked out cold. I suppose he was remembering that now.

"What are we going to do?" Michael said seriously.

"Well, head butting it isn't going to work!" I shrieked and collapsed into a laughing mess again.

I finally stopped laughing again and put my serious face on.

"Now that is going on Facebook" I said and cracked a smile.

"Okay, we get it. It was funny. What are we going to do about the window; you even said it yourself, nothing short of a bullet isn't going to crack the window"

"Wait, didn't mum say that there was only one way to crack the window?" I remembered.

"Yeah, she did. Something about a groove in the window"

"Yes. She told us that the green chisel and hammer in the shed was the only thing able to crack the window" I was getting excited.

"Where's the shed key?" Michael asked.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" I groaned.

"What?"

"It's in the bloody house!" I said.

"Are you serious?" Michael looked at me.

"Why don't you just smash the shed window" Jordan said.

"What?" I said.

"Is there a window on the shed that isn't reinforced glass?" he said.

"Okay, I feel like an idiot now." I said and picked up the rock.

"Wait, can I try it again?" Michael said.

"Fine" I handed over the rock and we made our way over to the shed window.

Michael took a second run up and successfully threw the rock through the window. Glass went everywhere inside the shed.

"Do you know where it is?" I asked.

"No. Do you?"

"I'm gonna have to go through the window. Can you guys help me?" I turned to face our extra help.

They smashed out the rest of the glass and pilled their hands together. I carefully placed my hands on the window sill and guided my body through the sill and landed on the floor. I looked around and felt tears well up at the sight of my family's life. I wondered how I was going to be when we entered the house and the funeral. I chastised myself for letting my emotions get the better of me; I had to be strong for the rest of my family.

"Can you see it?" Michael asked.

"I only just got in here. Give me a minute" I wondered over to my dad's tool bench.

I looked over the top and couldn't find anything except a few stray screwdrivers. I looked underneath the bench and couldn't see it. Suddenly, a green glint caught my eye. I immediately looked back, moved a few things out of the way and saw the hammer and chisel sitting together side by side.

"Found it!" I yelled. I grabbed them and passed them through to Michael. I looked around the shed for something that I could stand on to get out through the window. I quickly spotted an old chair and put it next to the window.

"I'm coming through now" I said to the others.

I carefully stood up on the chair, trying to balance my weight. I felt the chair give way but it was too late to get off. I was going down with it. I yelped out as I felt the broken plastic scrape up my leg. My feet hit the ground heavy. I felt my ankle give way as I crumpled to the floor.

"Shit!" I yelled.

"Rose? You okay?" Michael spoke.

"Do I sound okay? I've cut my leg and I think I've sprained my ankle. There's no way I'm gonna be able to get back out the window"

"What if we carry you out?" Jordan spoke.

"No. It would be too awkward. Just get into the house and get the shed key"

"I don't know how to break the window thought. Mum only told me about the one way"

Luckily I was off school sick when all the windows were replaced.

"There's a little groove in all the windows. You can only notice it if you're looking. It's shaped to the chisel. Put the chisel in and smash the hammer down. It should crack the window and make it soft enough for you to chuck a rock through" I explained.

'I hope Nadine doesn't hear about this'. Then it hit me. Nadine wasn't going to hear from me again. Maybe in a couple of years but for now, we had the time difference to work around and I wasn't going to be able to give her the name of the street and number I was staying at. After all, the only people who knew about CHERUB where its agents, teachers and prime minister. Not even the military or MI5 (**I think MI5 is the English brand of secret service)** knew about it

I heard a yell of surprise. Then a couple minutes later I heard a smash. I decided to test out my ankle. I dragged myself over to the bench. I gripped on to it tightly and stood up on one foot. I slowly placed my foot on the ground

"So far so good" I muttered to myself

Then the trouble began. I put a little bit of pressure on my ankle and pain took up my ankle as well as shooting up my leg.

"Ahh" I cried out.

I immediately took all pressure off my ankle. I was breathing through the pain when I heard the door slide open.

"Wow, you really don't look to hot" Michael grinned.

"Shut up. At least I didn't chuck I rock at near bullet proof glass" I shot back.

"All right, there's no need for that" he said as he walked over.

"Wait, where's the other? Aren't they carrying me out of here?" I asked nervously.

"Nope. I am." I laughed nervously; Michael wasn't the strongest person in the world.

"Michael, no offense, but you aren't that strong. You can't even lift the 20 kilo rice bags from the car to the house so how are you going to lift me, which I'm like 3 times as heavy to the house which is like the same distance. What are you going to do? Chop me into three?"

"No, I can lift the rice bags to the house. I just can't be bothered. Just relax" he said as he bent down

"No. Michael. Step away" I warned.

"Just leave it okay"

He picked me up like he was carrying an injured person; well I suppose he was.

"If you drop me, I am going to kill you" I said. Clutching on to his neck like there was no tomorrow.

The house seemed to get bigger and bigger. We were almost at the door when we stopped.

"Why are we stopping?" I said frantically.

"I'm getting kinda tired. I need to drop you" he said.

"Are you serious?" I said, starting to freak out

"No, I'm only kidding" he smiled and started walking again

"I'm just not even going to say anything" I said, trying to get my heart rate under control.

"You know you love me"

"Not at the moment"

We stepped into the house and everything came rushing back to me. The last time my family was all in the same place here was before we left for the airport. Michael must have felt me change.

"You okay?"

"Yeah" I answered quietly. "Just put me on the couch"

He carried me to the couch and set me down. I closed my eyes and tried to think of happier times when felt something cold on my ankle.

"What the hell?" I gasped.

"Relax. You need to reduce the swelling" Said Jordan.

"No. I need to go pack"

"We'll go pack" said Charlie.

"That's sweet, honey, but your version of packing is stuffing everything in the suitcase and handing it to me"

"I can go pack" Michael said

"How are you going to go pack? You won't even touch mine and mums underwear when you take the clothes off the line" I reasoned.

"Well I can start packing mine and all the stuff on the house. I can call the window repair guy and clean the house. There's heaps to do without packing clothes." He said.

"You? Clean the house? That'll be rich. Wait till I tell mum" everyone fell silent.

"I mean, sure, go ahead" I said quietly. "In the meanwhile, can someone get me a pair of damn crutches?" I asked.

"You need to rest the ankle" Jordan said.

"If you don't get me a pair of crutches, I will start walking on it. We wouldn't want that would we?" I said seriously.

"I know! There's some in mum and dad's closet. I'll go get them" Charlie raced off.

"I'm coming to" yelled Jenn and Sam.

I crossed my arms until they came back with Charlie holding one crutch and Jenn and Sam fighting over the other one. This was the only time that I was thankful that dad broke his ankle. With the help of Jordan I got up onto the crutches. Once I got my balance I tested them out.

"Guess I won't be running any time soon huh?" I joked.

"You won't be out of those crutches for at least a week" Jordan said seriously.

"What? A week as in seven days?" I said

"Yep. By the looks of it, that's a near brake. You're lucky not to have it broken. If anything, that might be a fracture"

A week without running was like a week of torture. I ran everywhere unless I was dragged onto a train or into a car. At least it wasn't a break I suppose.

"I need to go start packing" I said in a monotone voice.

I picked up one of the massive suitcases that we were provided with and 'walked' to my bedroom. I looked at everything with a sense of longing. I wished I was coming in here to unload a suitcase, not pack one. It also didn't help that I packed most of my winter clothes when we went to England. But all my other clothes had to be packed up so I started at my chest of drawers and pulled everything out from their and dumped it onto my bed. I folded them as small as I could. I made my way over to my cupboard and worked on that as well. I looked around. There were no more clothes I had. I thought I had more but I guess they were destroyed in the crash. Zara told us that we were getting a clothes allowance each when we got back. Also a certain amount of money to make up for the things that weren't able to make the flight over. I made my way over to my book case and looked at the massive amount of books that was stored in my case. There was no way all of that could fit into one suitcase.

"Jordan!" I shouted.

A minute later he popped his head into the doorframe.

"Yes?"

"How am I going to get all my books across? There's too many to take in one suitcase"

"We'll pack all the clothes first and then we'll see how much space we have left over" he nodded.

"Also; what are we going to do with our parent's clothes and the other stuff like beds and book cases?"

"Well you can put it to charity or sell them with the house. Your choice"

"You can do that? I guess we'll sell them with the house then. The beds and drawers I mean. The clothes we can give to a Good Sammy's I guess" I shrugged

I looked outside the window and noticed that it was still a little bit light. I wanted a break so I suggested that we all get an early dinner.

"What do you guys want?" I asked, holding the phone.

"Fish and Chips!"

"Red Rooster!"

"KFC!"

"McDonalds!"

"Woah, slow down" I said.

I turned to the other adults.

"What do you guys want?" I asked them.

"We don't care" Jordan shrugged.

"Well, since I'm holding the phone, I'll decide. We are having Domino's. Only because they deliver"

Zara also helpfully gave us money for food and take away. I decided to live it up in our last days here perhaps ever and order take away every night. It was also easier. While we were waiting for our pizzas, I decided to log onto Facebook. I had about 20 messages and about 50 notifications. Most of my messages and notifications were about whether or not I was okay. But one was from the weird guy at school who professed his 'undying love' for me and how he wishes that he told me before I had 'blown myself up in that awful plane crash'. I decided to leave that one for later. Suddenly I had everyone online chatting to me. Most of them were just 'hi' and 'hope you feel better' or 'good luck moving to England'. But Nadine seemed to come up out of nowhere.

**(I have to do the … Says because I can't think of any other way to put a convo in)**

Nadine Says: You haven't ditched me yet!

Rose Says: I'm only at my house. Once we pack everything up then we'll be going.

Nadine Says: You have to promise me that you won't ditch me like Kayla ditched us….

Kayla was a friend of ours who moved to Perth last year and never bothered to contact us again.

Rose Says: I would never do that!

Nadine Says: Good. I couldn't survive it if you never talked to me again.

Rose Says: It's going to be really hard to talk to you because of the time difference anyways

Nadine Says: This is why Facebook was invented! And I'll also get up early on Sundays to talk to you. Because that's how much I love you

Nadine always loved sleeping in on Sunday morning.

Rose Says: Haha. Can I ask you a favour?

Nadine Says: Absolutely. What do you need?

Rose Says: I want you to come to the funeral tomorrow. You're the only friend I really want there tomorrow

Nadine Says: Honey you couldn't stop me from coming to the funeral

Rose Says: Thanks. You also have to promise not to laugh

Nadine Says: Why on earth would I laugh?

Rose Says: I'm on crutches because I nearly broke my ankle

Nadine Says: Hahahaha! How did you do that?

Rose Says: We didn't have a spare key so I got into the shed to get something and when I was getting back out through the window the chair broke and I landed on my ankle

Nadine Says: Haha. Sounds like you need a diet.

Rose Says: Whatever. I gotta go, dinner's here. TTYL!

While we ate our pizzas in silence, I went over a few things in my head. Just the simple stuff; stuff that didn't really matter anymore. After we finished all the slices, I decided that it was time to sleep. It was only 7.30 but the everything was weighing down on me and I wanted to get away from everyone. I had a quick shower and collapsed onto my bed. I decided that Michael would take the initiative and get all the sleeping arrangements done. I mentally prepared myself for what was to come tomorrow.

**Phew that was a long chapter. I just kept writing and writing. I could have kept writing but I decided to cut it short because you all probably have better things to do and four and a half pages is just a tad bit too long for a chapter. **


	13. Chapter 12

**Wow, I am so sorry guys. I've been incredibly busy with school that I haven't had time to do anything. But now that I've finished until next year and have had time to unwind and get rid of all my stress, I have a lot more time to do what I want. I know it's been aaaages since I posted and I promise it won't be as long this time. For sure. A lot has happened since I last posted. Well, back onto the fan fiction...**

**Previously; Rose, Michael, Charlie, Jenn and Sam were all in a plane crash on the way back from England. They've been offered a place in CHERUB, Rose has a room, Michael was in a fight with Jake Parker, there may or may not be a thing happening between Bruce and Rose, the family flew back to Broome, said goodbyes to friends, Rose sprained her ankle on a broken chair.**

**I think that's everything**

My eyes fluttered open, the slight heat coming through the window. I heard people's voices floating through the door. I sat up and looked around my room. It was half packed with boxed and suitcases spread around. My ankle had woken me up several times throughout the night from the pain of strapping it. I heard a smash of glass and decided it was time to get up and face the day. Today was the funeral. I had asked my best friend, Nadine, to come along because I think she was going to be the only friend I could handle seeing me like this. My ankle hurt like a bitch to walk on but I needed to be mentally and physically strong for my family. Once I was dressed and got my bed hair half decent I walked out to find everyone sitting around the table.

"Where are your crutches?" Jordan asked, worry lines etched over his face

"Don't need 'em" I shrugged. I did but that was beside the point

"If you're sure" uncertainty plagued his voice.

I didn't think I was going to be able to eat but surprisingly I was able to force a single piece of toast down my throat. The atmosphere was awkward as well. No one knew what to say. We had to get ready for the funeral which was in a couple of hours. But I figured we needed them. It was as torturous as I thought as Charlie was persistent in not getting dressed. Michael wasn't dressed appropriately. We finally got everyone dressed appropriately and headed over to Jenn and Sam's house. I didn't know what clothes they had but I guessed I would find out. They were behaving the same as Charlie and didn't want to get dressed. That extra couple of hours I thought we needed seemed to fly by and before I knew it, we only had half an hour to the funeral. Luckily the funeral had been half paid for by life insurance and CHERUB. CHERUB was the biggest saviour in my life at the moment. The car arrived and we set off to the church. We got there with 10 minutes to go and I found that the whole church was filled out. It looked like everyone that knew my parents, uncle and auntie had turned out. All five of us walked down the aisle with everyone's faces turned to us. There were sad smiles where ever I turned my head. Finally we reached the front row where I found not just Nadine but all of my closest friends.

"We couldn't just leave you on the worst day of your life" Nadine smiled

"I don't even know what to say"

"Don't say anything" we all sat down with Nadine on my left and the others on my right.

The minister started the prayers to which no one said anything. At the same time I didn't want to but I knew I had to do a speech. My family wouldn't have wanted a send-off without something personal. I was hoping, pleading, that I wouldn't start crying.

"Thank you everyone for coming. I don't know in which way my family has helped or touched you but I thank you anyway. Knowing them, I knew they would've wanted a personal send off with someone saying something. My parents were the best parents I could ever ask for. Sometimes they had their moments where I wanted to scream at them but they had taught me that arguing never got anyone anywhere. It is their values and beliefs that they passed onto me that I will carry on to teach my cousins, children and grandchildren. My uncle and aunty taught me that no matter how serious life gets, you can always afford to have a little fun. The last thing I remember before the plane crash was thinking 'I'm going to die'. Fortunately I didn't and neither did my siblings or cousins but it was unfortunate that my parents, uncle and aunty did. Life will never be the same without them but we have to move on. Eventually time will heal and we'll tell stories that will make people laugh, sad and smile. Today is not about mourning their death but celebrating the life that they all created. It is unfortunate that we have to move to England but it's something that cannot be helped. I thank everyone that has helped myself, siblings and cousins throughout our life here and those that were important to us will be remembered. Hopefully in the future we can all come back and see everyone. Thank you all again" I stepped off the podium my heart clenched as though someone was squeezing it.

I looked around the church to find everyone's eyes welling up. The rest of the funeral and the wake passed in a blur of people passing on their condolences. Michael was taking responsibility and looking after the girls. I didn't really talk to people unless spoken to. Nadine noticed that I was distant but didn't comment on it. The rest of the packing was a blur as well. I felt myself starting to shatter and I couldn't do anything to help it. Once everything was packed and boxed up, I looked back at my house, filled with furniture but somehow emptier than when we arrived. Most stuff that we couldn't pack was given to Good Sammy's. The money that we got from both houses was to be divided into five and given to each of us. The will stated that we got the houses to decide what to do with but I couldn't step back in either of those houses. Too many memories. Nadine and I said our last goodbyes at the small airport and a small tear escaped from my eye. I boarded the plane knowing that this would probably be the last time ever that I would see my home. I sat down on a chair. Everyone was still feeling it from the funeral several days before. Several more tears escaped from my eyes and before I knew it I was sobbing into my hands. Gut wrenching sobs that I couldn't seem to stop no matter how hard I tried. Michael walked over and squeezed himself onto the chair with me. He wrapped his arms around me putting me in an embrace that was similar to my fathers. This made my heart ache even more and I cried even harder. This was it; I had finally shattered. My parents, uncle and aunty had all died and I was the one alive. I would never feel their warm embrace, hear their laughs, feel their glare as I misbehaved, hear their encouragement as I participated in my cross country or passed a major assignment or test. My whole life was flipped. I don't know how long had passed but I cried myself to sleep. I didn't know what else to do.


	14. Chapter 13

My back was stiff and unwilling to move. I'd fallen asleep on the plane but where I was now felt different. It was softer, more yielding to my body shape. I forcefully opened my eyes to find that I was back at my campus room. Just by myself. My heart suddenly leapt to my throat. Where were the others? I jumped out of the bed, scrambling around the room calling out names. No one was answering. After a quick scan on the en suite I looked back and saw a piece of paper on the ground near the desk. I must've blown it off in rushing around.

_You were asleep when we landed and I didn't want them to wake you. Zara sorted myself and the girls into rooms. I'm in 738 and the girls are in the junior block. Come see me when you're awake_

_Michael_

Phew. They were sorted. Now that I wasn't on the verge of a heart attack I took a proper survey of the room. There was a giant suitcase in the middle of my room. A quick look inside and I knew this was my one. A box next to it was all the heavy stuff like my old room stereo, laptop (I wasn't allowed it on the trio much to my dismay) etc and old chargers. I was told by Zara that we were going to be supplied with plugs that 'converted' the power points. I was also given a four pin plug to plug my Australian electronics in. I was told that the room had Wi-Fi and my laptop was already wired in. After emptying the box I found an iPod touch box at the bottom. Unopened.

_To start replacing what was destroyed, Zara x_

They were giving me a free iPod? Well I certainly wasn't going to say no. I opened it in glee and set it up. While transferring songs from the iTunes on my laptop to my new iPod I walked around the room having a good look at what it contained. The small sofa proved comfy no matter the position. The desk had several draws which were mostly empty except for a few new pens and empty writing books, presumably for me when I started classes. The en suite had a shower and bath combined a modern looking basin and plenty of cupboard space. I took a quick shower which was blissful. The bed was soft beside it had a phone to call which I would have to try later. Finally the song uploads were done and I slid the iPod into my stereo and turned it right up. It reminded me so much of my old life that it nearly brought tears to my eyes. I shook them free and told myself that I had to move forward. I started unpacking the bag and sorting out my clothes and trying to decide what to put where. A slightly catchy song came on which led to me dancing more than sorting. Then Will Smiths 'Switch' came on. This song was deadly to me. I could never concentrate or keep still. As soon as it came on I started dancing vigorously and insanely. I was caught up in the moment and I thought I heard the door open but I shook it off. I danced my way into the en suite to put something in the cupboards. I danced backwards out of the bathroom. The music was turned off mid song and as I quickly flung myself around my foot got caught on the other and the floor came rushing up to meet me. My nose hit the floor first and I thought I heard crunching.

"Shit!" I heard a male voice exclaim.

I stood up and turned around to find Bruce in my room.

"What was that for?"

"Are you okay?" he asked

I limped over the bed. My ankle was still extremely sore which dancing moronically only made it worse.

"Why is it that whenever you sneak up on me that I end up falling over?"

"You didn't answer my question"

"I'm okay. Getting through it" I gave a small smile "Why did you turn my music off?"

"It was loud. We gave it a couple of songs but there was a crowd and someone had to turn it off. I gave a quick knock and a quick look to check I could come in but you didn't seem to hear me"

"You didn't think to get my attention another way?"

"I waved at the mirror when you were in the bathroom and you smiled back" he reasoned

"I was smiling because I was having a good time" I laughed.

"I can see that" his eyes roamed over my body

When I got out of the shower I had just put on a crop top and my running shorts. My crop top was considerably tight as were my running shorts. As I had been told by many guys, friends and family; I had a good figure. It was obvious that he seemed to think so as well. He looked back into my eyes and I saw attraction. I quickly stood up.

"Right, well I'll be sure to keep the volume down" I put too much pressure on my sprained ankle and I winced. He noticed

"Hurt your ankle?"

"From that? No. I sprained it badly back in Aus. They said I'll be on crutches for a week but I hate them so I'm going without"

"How'd you sprain it?"

"In the normal way people sprain ankles. I fell on it" through a chair

"You like a bit of danger then huh?" he said flirtatiously.

Shit. I couldn't deal with a love interest at the moment

"Yep, that's me" I laughed nervously "If you don't mind I'd really like to unpack the rest of my stuff" I motioned to the half unpacked bag of clothes.

"Yeah, sure" he looked a bit disheartened but I couldn't help that

He left with a flirty smile thrown at me just as he closed the door. I laid back on the bed and groaned. Back home I received practically no male attention except when in a bikini or training for running and now I get some as soon as I get into this place? This was either going to go swimmingly or it was going to drown in a pit of despair


End file.
